Sunday, March 16, 2008

Make your own Paneer (Panir, or Indian cottage cheese)

Paneer is a milk-protein preparation that reminds one of tofu and is a really nice additive to vegetarian curries. It takes a while to set nicely, and I've tended to opt to just buy the cubed paneer from shops. However, some over-zealous shopping instructions from me had resulted in both hubby and bro-in-law buying way too much much milk (two gallons - or two 3.7 litre bottles).Ingredients:One gallon milkOne lemon

You'll also need muslin or cheese cloth, a colander and a large pot that the colander can fit into.

Start by bringing the milk to a boil

As the milk starts to bubble, squeeze in the juice of a lemon

Stir the milk and lemon concoction. The milk protein will start to separate out. Keep stirring so you don't get any inconsistent lumps.

As the mix comes to a second boil, take it off the stove and let cool

Wrap the muslin around the colander on the inside so you have an inner cloth "bowl" into which to ladle the mix. Place the whole into a larger pot so the operation doesn't get too messy!

Get the kids involved in pouring the mix into this set up. They'll love the sight of the solids emerging as the liquid percolates out

Once you have all the liquid out, twist the muslin so that you have the paneer caught in the end as a nice lump. Place it under a weight (I placed it between plates and put a heavy vase on top!) and let as much of the liquid seep out

It's ready! Try it in a peas or spinach curry. I'll share a recipe with you soon.

3 comments:

Hi Roopa!! Hey you look very pretty in the pic:) Your kids must have a had a wonderful time making paneer I am sure, I myself feel excited to see the paneer separating from the milk when i add lemon :)